The Path of Progress

It has been one of those "two steps forward, one step back" weeks for knitting projects. There's not a lot of P in the WIPs.

Four to five inches have been added to Mrs. Belli's diamond edging. I've also done several rounds on the pink camisole, but I'm beginning to worry about the knitted fabric. While not exactly puckering, it does not lie flat on the circular needle, but makes vertical "waves" across the body (these will smooth out by hand if laying flat). Please look below the "lower" circular needle and above the hem:

Maybe this is what cotton does when the body is knitted up from the hem? It is Rowan Cotton Glace, which seems on the stiff side to me. Has anyone else knitted with this, and if so, what is your experience with it? Does it block out flat, much like bumpy lace that transforms after wetting and drying? I am so worried this is going to be one of those problem projects that doesn't look right when completed, no matter what you do.

Needing something a lot simpler to work on when tired, I began the first square for the Blanket of Hope. I'm using a stitch pattern from the Knitting Pattern a Day calendar called Garden Rows Rib. While the pattern has a nice texture, it bothers me that the left side of the square looks different (ie wrong) from the right side, even though they are technically correct. Sorry this photo is a bit dark, but if you click to enlarge, you can see the pattern better:

It looks like knit 1, purl 3 all the way across, but I think it should end on another knit 1, just to make a nice frame around the pattern. So, I'm ripping this and re-doing it. Thankfully, it does seem to knit up fast.

In happier news, the donations for our IBD ride for Crohn's and Colitis grew to $500 this week! In addition, Katie of Live2Knits has generously offered a prize of her lovely Vivien lace yarn (100g), to be dyed in the color of the winner's choice. Perfect for those of you joining the Victorian Lace Today KAL!! She sells beautiful, muted colorways that you must go check out right now. I have her Monet yarn which I'm going to use to make a scarf (nothing says spring like the Impressionists), and I am desperately wanting her Grace silk yarn. Thank you Katie! We'll draw the winner's name for the yarn on Memorial Day weekend, along with the winner of our "grand prize" $30 gift certificate to a yarn/bike shop.

If you're like me, when you donate to a charity, you might wonder what the current status is for the research & projects that are being done, and what new advances have been made for treatment or a cure. Put another way, how do I know that the funds I donate are helping? Because Crohn's/colitis/IBD are not well-known or understood by many people, this is a particularly important question. So I'm pleased to tell you that very recently a significant breakthrough was made by a consortium of researchers from universities in the U.S. and Canada. In Fall 2006, Judy Cho, senior author of their report and and an associate professor in the Departments of Medicine and Genetics at Yale University, identified the gene that is linked to Crohn's Disease and colitis. They are now targeting this gene for drugs that might help patients better manage their IBD. So please know that if you decide to make a donation to our charity ride fundraiser, you will be helping with these studies, as well as patient education and assistance, funded by the groups that GYGIG supports. And in addition, you'll have opportunities to win gift certificates and some pretty yarn! Our first prize drawing will be the last weekend in March.

Timmy says a big thank you to all of you who liked his photos in blue. He was feeling bad that Charlie gets all the attention, so he wanted to show you that he could model too! He can't wait for the PS Orange month.

Comments

[Beth]

I'm sorry you're having trouble with your camisole. Hopefully someone will be able to help you with your question. It does look beautiful!

[Sonya]

The camisole is lovely! It's a pretty stitch pattern. As is the blanket square! Thanks for sharing the info on the IBD gene. It sounds encouraging. All the maintenance drugs I tried made me sick so I'm not taking anything. It's good to know that when I need treatment again, there will be new options.

[alice]

I don't have any experience of the Cotton Glace, but I can definitely see that your cami looks gorgeous. What lovely, neat stitches. I like knitting with cotton.

[Meredith]

I'm using Glace right now, but I haven't blocked or anything yet. Did you have to pick up stitches for the body? It looks as though the edging wasn't quite long enough to pick up as many stitches as you needed, so it's scrunching in a bit.

[--Deb]

Congrats on hitting the $500 mark!!

[Sydney]

I don't have any experience with Cotton Glace. You could always put it on some yarn. Then block what you have to see how it looks.

[hege]

I have used Cotton Glace and I was very happy with it. I found it soft and silky, and it didn't need much blocking. As Meredith says, it looks like the edging is too short for the number of stitches for the body, and is pulling in...

[Rachel]

Why don't you put your project on scrap yarn and do a preliminary blocking right now? That way you won't have to worry about it for the entire rest of the knitting. If it blocks out, you can relax; if it doesn't -- well, better to know now, right?

[Chris]

I'm with the "put it on scrap yarn and test block" - find out now if there's a problem before you get any further!!

[tiennie]

I don't have any experience with the Glace so no help here. I agree with the ripping though - I like my projects to be symmetrical.

[Robin]

Thanks for the Crohn's info - one of my friends has the disease so I am familiar with it. I will check out the link for the donations.

[Lori]

The cami looks great -- love the color. Hope it works out :)

[Nancy]

I'm sorry you're having trouble with your cami, but the edging looks gorgeous! And it's also good to hear the $$ keeps rolling in for the ride.

[Sarah]

I think I'd probably rip back and pick up fewer stitches (or lengthen the edging) - in order to fix it with blocking you'd need the edging to stretch out significantly, which I think it's unlikely to do without looking, well, stretched. Good luck!

[debsnm]

I joined the KAL! OK, I sent in an email asking to join. I'm thinking that your square is different on right and left to make it reversable? If you flip it, does it look the same?
On the cami, maybe add another couple of inches before you give up and frog it? Sometimes the material needs some weight added to it to make it behave properly, cotton is especially hard to work with, IMHO.

[Laura]

Okay, I'm late to the game. I agree with those who said that it looks like you picked up too many stitches for the edging. (Or the edging is too long, whatever.)

Can you stretch the edging out so that the stockinette part is flat? If so, maybe you just need some aggressive blocking.

I've used Cotton Glace and it blocks well.